Our friends at Oglio were facing a quandary. They had formed a few years back with the express purpose of releasing great 80's pop music that was getting ignored by all the other record labels. However, as the end of 1996 loomed, they realized that labels are leaping all over the 80's reissue bandwagon, from new wave and rockabilly to goth and hair metal. The solution? Time to get wacky.
Enter Sex-O-Rama. What better way to celebrate the original spirit of the label while branching out into other forms of music. How many times have we all been talking to our friends, had them make some subtle innuendo, and suddenly thought of THAT RIFF. You know the one, that swaggering "wakka-chikka" riff that we assume all "classic porn" music had. The riff that kicked in whenever a big sex scene was about to take place (i.e. every 5 minutes). Well, I'm here to tell you we were right. The music DID have that patented wakka-chikka. And it's every bit as funny, sexy, and satisfying as we always thought.
Now, I'm not an avid porno fan. I'll admit to the usual casual knowledge of the genre, maybe my youthful hormones led me astray once or twice at the video store, but that's about it. Folks, I have gotta tell you I love this CD. Sure, it's in poor taste. Yes, there's a half-naked porno star named Jenna Jameson wearing a cheerleader outfit on the CD artwork (see booklet for fan club info). But how can you not love an album with this kind of chutzpah?! It knows what it wants to do and it does it with style.
Basically what they did was to put together a batch of very competent musicians, listen to the tunes in the movies, then faithfully reproduce the songs in the studio with the original instruments. Don't be disappointed that these aren't "culled from the master tapes"; it undoubtedly sounds better than the real thing anyway. And speaking of the band, the names listed in the CD booklet are absolutely hilarious. There's Sid Getzoff on guitar, Haywood Jablomi on bass, Phil McCrackin playing flute, and many more stellar musicians.
The liner notes themselves are certainly the funniest, most straightforward I've ever read as well. Robert Rimmer presents each piece of music with some historical background on the films and revelations about the whole industry, etc. (Most of the pornographic films of the 70's/early 80's era were done on film, not video as they apparently are today). Also, Scott Ramsay talks candidly about his first encounter with porn movies in a neighborhood theater ("Up until then the only pornography I'd ever seen was crappy 8mm sex movies ordered from the back of Pregnant Lesbian magazine...")
From the opening notes of "The Shower Scene" from Debbie Does Dallas to the final waxing strains of Deep Throat's "Main Title Theme", this is instrumental music at its finest. Maybe you wouldn't be caught dead watching this stuff, but a disc of the music sure makes a great conversation piece. Many more well-known movies are represented here, including "Behind the Green Door", "I Like to Watch", and more.
I suppose everyone can't be expected to like this album. I showed it to several friends and their reactions ran the entire gamut of emotions, from laughs and curiousity to casual smirks and indifference, and one person was even insulted. C'est la vie. Personally, I find the idea charming and it's presented here quite tastefully (note Ms.Jameson's playful poses). All in all, it doesn't deliver any real answers as to why we know the titles of these films, but I came to some conclusions of my own. First, some of those titles are freaking funny. And second, it's the music, stupid! Do yourself a favor: grab your pom poms, a close friend, and this entertaining release. Maybe you'll find your fantasies fulfilled.
